Without the Light
by Amyeyl
Summary: Seiji has a secret admirer... (Shounen Ai)


A/N: My first finished fanfic, ever!  
  
Disclaimer: I wish.  
  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, horny Shin  
  
Summary: Seiji's got a secret admirer.  
  
  
  
Without the Light  
  
by Amyeyl  
  
------------------  
  
Seiji sat on the roof of the large Yagyu house watching the sky slowly lighten as the sun rose. The others, he was sure, were still asleep and he indulged himself in a privacy that was hard to come by with such living arrangements. It was one of his two favorite times of day. Sunrise and sunset, the only times everything truly felt right. With his armor being Kourin, it was assumed he loved the sunlight. However, as frightening to him as it was, he longed for the darkness, that other half of everything that he was. During these times he got a taste, but it only served to increase his desire.  
  
As the sky became a bright blue Seiji left the roof and made his way back into his room via the window. He frowned as he neared the twin beds. Touma, his roommate was still asleep. It wasn't the fact that he was asleep which upset him, the boy generally slept till noon if not disturbed, but the fact that there was a package resting in the center of his bed. If Touma was still asleep, then who...? The blonde sat down and gingerly picked up the simply wrapped box. It hadn't been there a few hours ago when he went up to the roof, of that he was certain. Had one of the others left it then? There was only one way to find out, and with the frown still in place, he unwrapped the black and white paper.  
  
Inside there was a small box and a short note. The note read simply 'Do you understand?' Seiji blinked and flipped the card over, looking for more to the message but none was to be found. Perplexed, he opened the small box. Nestled prettily on a pad of cotton was a necklace. It was a yin yang, set in a silver backing, attached to an equally silver chain. He wasn't sure what the black stone was, but he was hoping the clear was cubic zirconium. Gently lifting the necklace out of its box along with the cotton pad, he looked for another note. There was none to be found and he replaced both items along with the note into the box, setting the whole inside his nightstand drawer. Touma had some explaining to do when he woke up; at least, Seiji hoped he did.  
  
Breakfast passed by in a blur for the bearer of Kourin. He was too wrapped up in his own wonderings about the strange package from earlier to pay much attention to his food or his friends, and so he missed the looks they gave him, which varied from confused to worried.  
  
"Seiji? Is something bothering you?" Nasuti broke the silence that had hovered over the kitchen after the blonde's strange behavior had been noticed.  
  
"Huh?" The boy in question blinked himself out of his stupor and took in the faces of his friends which had all shifted to worry with his completely out-of-character remark. Shin, even more the mother hen type than Nasuti, leaned across the table to press a cool hand against Seiji's forehead.  
  
"Doesn't seem to have a fever..." The hand was brushed away in annoyance.  
  
"Seiji, are you alright?" Nasuti tried again.  
  
"I-I'm fine, Nasuti."  
  
"Well, you don't seem fine." Shuu mumbled around a mouthful of toast.  
  
"He's right," Ryo remarked, leaning close to peer into the one visible eye. Seiji pushed his chair back and stood up to escape Ryo's gaze.  
  
"I'm fine, really. Touma just... just played a joke on me or something this morning and it was kind of disturbing."  
  
"Touma? This morning?" Ryo made a move to feel his forehead this time, but was gracefully sidestepped. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"  
  
"Touma did what?" the still sleepy boy mumbled as he stumbled into the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at him, and Shin, being the closest, pressed his hand against his forehead.  
  
"Well, he doesn't have a fever either, but whatever it is might be contagious..."  
  
"Huh?" was the intelligent response.  
  
"Well, first Seiji spends breakfast in a stupor and then mentions you being up in the morning, and now you are up in the morning..."  
  
"Must come from sharing a room, they're rubbing off on each other," Shuu snickered. Shin blinked, it made a kind of sense. Was he rubbing off on Shuu from sharing a room?  
  
"No, no..." Touma shook his blue head and shuffled towards the refrigerator, "I'm not really up, just thirsty..." He grabbed a bottle of water and turned to go back upstairs mumbling to himself about deserts and talking cacti. Seiji heaved a sigh and followed him back to their shared room.  
  
Taking a long swallow from the bottle, Touma barely managed to screw the lid back on before collapsing back into bed. Seiji watched, debating on whether or not he should ask about the necklace now or wait until the boy was fully awake. Remembering the looks from his friends, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to try now. He knelt on the bed and gently shook his friend. When this didn't work, he shook him harder.  
  
"Touma? Touma, wake up, I need to talk to you."  
  
"Go 'way, sleepin'."  
  
"Touma, come on! I need to talk to you about that necklace," the blond pleaded.  
  
"Necklace? Wha necklace?" one eye cracked open to peer up at him.  
  
"The one you left on my bed."  
  
"You left a necklace on my bed?"  
  
"No-!" Seiji sighed and let go of Touma, who almost instantly returned to slumber land. He crossed to his own bed and lay down on it. There would be no answers for a few hours yet until the blue haired archer fully joined the land of the wakeful.  
  
A few hours later Seiji was awoken from where he had dozed off by droplets of water dripping down onto his face. He opened his to find a slightly damp Touma sitting on the side of his bed, water from his hair trickling down to be absorbed by his shirt collar by sprinkling onto his own face when the other moved. Touma grinned at him.  
  
"S'not like you to fall asleep in your clothes. Not like you to sleep later than me either." Seiji stared at him for a moment, confused. It took a moment for him to realize what was meant.  
  
"I didn't sleep later than you," he said, sitting up. "I tried talking to you earlier when you came downstairs, but it didn't work. I must've fallen asleep waiting for you to wake up again."  
  
"When I went downstairs? I don't remember going downstairs..." Seiji shrugged.  
  
"Well you did. Anyway, I needed to ask you about..."  
  
"Hey," Touma reached over him to snag something off of his nightstand, "you got a present. Who gave you a present?"  
  
"You did. That's what I..." Seiji found himself speechless. When Touma leaned back, he was holding a different box, wrapped in shiny green paper. Seiji took the proffered box and stared at it.  
  
"Aren't you gonna open it? I wanna know what's inside!" Seiji glared at him.  
  
"You should know what's inside, it is from you after all." Touma blinked, confused.  
  
"What are you talking about, Seiji? I didn't give you that."  
  
"Of course you did. And you gave me the neck-" Seiji trailed off at the look of incomprehension on Touma's face. "You didn't give this to me?" Touma shook his head.  
  
"Nope. So open it already."  
  
"If you didn't... and you didn't give me anything earlier this morning?" Touma just stared at him. "Okay, you didn't. Who did?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Seiji opened the drawer in his nightstand and pulled out the box with the yin yang pendant in it and handed it to Touma.  
  
"That was on my bed when I came back in this morning, so I assumed it was from you..." he stared down at the still wrapped package in his hands, "and now there's this." Touma opened the box and his jaw dropped.  
  
"Uh, Sage?" he looked up to see the blond frowning at the hated nickname, "You do realize that these are diamonds, don't you? And I think..." he peered closer at the necklace, scratching at it lightly, "...is this black sapphire...?" Seiji stared at him, mouth open in shock. Touma reached out to close it for him. "Do keep your mouth closed, it's most unbecoming on you."  
  
"A-are you serious? They're real diamonds?"  
  
"Well, to be absolutely sure we'd have to take it to a jeweler's or something, but I'd say yeah, they're real diamonds. Where'd you say this came from again?"  
  
"I didn't... I thought it was from you, remember?"  
  
"I can't afford something like this with my non-existent salary. Besides, why would I give you a necklace of all things?"  
  
"I DON'T know!" It came out a little too forcefully, and Seiji had the decency to look embarrassed. "Sorry, but I don't know why you would have, which is why I've been so out of it all morning and wanted to talk to you so much. I mean if you didn't give it to me, who did? One of the other guys? If so, how would they have gotten it in here? And why? And if those really are diamonds and whatever how would they be able to afford it ei-?"  
  
"SAGE! You're babbling." Seiji came to a sudden stop as he realized that he was, indeed, babbling. It seemed Touma would be in charge of keeping his mouth shut these days, as he reached over to close it again. Seiji flushed and started fiddling with the other box in his hands.  
  
"I'm sorry, it's just.. first that and now this.." Touma smiled at him, the blonde was so cute when he was flustered.  
  
"Speaking of that, are you gonna open it?"  
  
"I don't know..." the archer shoved him, gently.  
  
"Of course you are." Seiji heaved a sigh and stared at him for a moment before dropping his gaze to the box.  
  
"You're sure this isn't from you?" Touma glared at him.  
  
"Open it." The swordsman pulled at the wrapper, exposing another box and another note. Touma snatched it up and read it before he had the chance.  
  
"'I need you to understand'...? Seiji, what the hell?"  
  
"I-I don't... I don't know," the blue-haired boy had reached out and taken the box from numb fingers, opening it. Inside was a small, intricately carved, statuette of a dragon. Seiji took the dragon from him and ran his fingers slowly over it. It was perfect, down to the last delicate whisker. He frowned as his fingers came in contact with a rough part and turned the statuette over. One of it's eyes and been crudely removed.  
  
"I'm not sure what that's made out of, but if you get the necklace checked, I think you should take it along. By the way, what'd the note mean?"  
  
"I don't know," he shook his head briefly, "the other one, it said 'Do you understand?'"  
  
Touma stared at him for a moment, and was about to ask another question when there was a knock at the door before it inched open.  
  
"Can we come in?" Shin asked politely before Shuu pushed past him and into the room, followed quickly by Ryo.  
  
"What's going on?" their fearless leader asked. A quick glance at Seiji, and Touma turned a frown to the others.  
  
"Seiji's got a secret admirer," the others broke out into smiles and laughter at the expression combined with the news. Shuu went so far as to elbow him none to gently in the gut.  
  
"Jealous, eh Touma? Afraid this secret admirer will snatch him up before you can tell him you love him?" This caused more laughter, before the others noticed the two on the bed weren't joining in.  
  
"Guys?" Shin hesitated, moving to sit on the other side of the swordsman. "What aren't you telling us?" Seiji didn't bother to explain so Touma took it upon himself to do so.  
  
"This admirer has been leaving some pretty expensive gifts and freaky notes," he handed both notes and gifts to Ryo, and continued. "The scariest part, though, is that when both gifts were left, out in plain sight, one of us was in the room. Granted, the first time it was me and I was asleep, but the second time it was Seiji who was asleep. You think he'd have noticed someone coming in here." Seiji lifted his head and stared at him, the fact that he hadn't given much thought to that aspect of what was going on etched clearly on his features.  
  
"Kami-sama," he breathed out, pushing his hands through his hair in a nervous gesture he thought he'd rid himself of long ago.  
  
"No ideas on who it is Seiji?" Ryo asked, staring at one of the notes as he if could intimidate it into talking.  
  
"No... I thought, I thought it was Touma at first..."  
  
"The joke?" Shin asked, remembering the conversation from breakfast, to which the blonde nodded.  
  
"So what're we gonna do about it? On the one hand, I think it would be good if Seiji got some-"  
  
"Shuu!" He glared at the smaller boy, and continued.  
  
"As I was saying before Shin so rudely interrupted me, it would be good for Seiji," he gestured at the once again flustered boy, "to get some, but I draw the line at him dating people who make a habit of breaking and entering."  
  
"People?" Ryo asked, "not girls?" Shuu huffed.  
  
"Girls are people. 'Sides, who said secret admirers had to be girls?"  
  
"No one, but unless you know differently, I thought Seiji was straight."  
  
"I've seen people hit on Seiji," he wagged a finger at both Ryo and the boy he was talking about, "whether he noticed it or not, since he's not quite right in the head, is anyone's guess-"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"What's with interrupting me today? I'm trying to share my wisdom with you people, and do you listen? No. As I was saying," a pointed glare directed at the two who had yet to interrupt, "Lots of people do hit on ya Blondie, and a good chunk of them happen to be men." Seiji turned a bright red color only Touma had ever seen before. Ryo tried and failed to hide a snicker before turning to Shuu again.  
  
"So, lots of men hit on Seiji, do they?" The Chinese boy nodded, secure in his observations. "Would one of them," another snicker, "be you?" The boy started to nod before he realized what was being said then growled and lunged at Ryo taking him to the floor. Seiji, if possible, turned a brighter red and looked a bit faint. On the floor, Shuu proceeded to pummel Ryo.  
  
"I... do... not... have... the... hots... for... Seiji!" each word was punctuated with a good punch to the gut. He stood up and kicked him once for good measure, before turning to face the blonde. "Not that there's anything wrong with you, Seiji." With a hearty pat to the back, he hastened to reassure the least experienced member of the group. Come to think of it, to his knowledge Seiji had never dated, let alone reacted to any sort of come on that could be rationalized away. The only forceful come on he'd witnessed had left him contemplating breaking his rule about hitting girls. All said and done, he'd had to pry the girl off and drag the stammering boy away. "And there's not anything wrong with being gay, if you are, and there's nothing wrong with being straight either. Both are good, I mean you could even be bi, heck, there's the occasional guy that does it for me...uh, stopping now." The red-faced boy looked sort of afraid, and Shuu was sure that his own cheeks were a similar color. He turned around quickly and scooped up their fallen leader. "I'm uh.. gonna go see if uh... Ryo here wants some Advil or something." and with that the two were gone.  
  
"That was interesting..." Shin murmured, taking in the slowly fading blush. Seiji really was pretty like that. He smiled a bit; he wouldn't mind having the other boy in his own bed. "Touma? Would you do me a favor and go check on the others?"  
  
"Shin, they just left..." he trailed off as he took in the unchecked look of lust on his friend's face.  
  
"I know that."  
  
"Why don't we go check on them together?" He grabbed the older boy's arm and made to pull him away from his best friend, who seemed to have shut down. Shin shook him off and moved to caress the blonde's cheek.  
  
"Never mind," he murmured inching closer to Seiji's face. "You can watch," he whispered, dropping a light kiss on perfect lips to get their owner's full attention. Wide-eyed, Seiji did focus on him. "Beautiful, so lovely..." he murmured before pressing his lips to the other's again. "He- y!" Touma pulled the auburn haired boy away from Seiji and threw him across his shoulder.  
  
"We're gonna go check on the other's alright?" Seiji's fingers were resting lightly against his lips and he didn't acknowledge Touma's departure with the still struggling Shin. With a sigh, he set off to find the others to help in restraining their resident slut. It was amazing how much the gentle boy changed when he was horny. All of them, save Seiji, had been on the receiving end of his advances. He himself had even given into them a few times. He grinned, wondering if any of the others had given in as well. Nasuti probably had once, it would explain her behavior a few months back. But why not Seiji?  
  
Touma ignored the protests, curses and invitations thrown his way as he checked the bathroom and found it empty. Not surprising, he doubted Shuu had really wanted to get Ryo some Advil. He headed towards the other bedrooms, still pondering the Seiji question. Why hadn't Shin hit on him before? He found the other two boys in the room Shuu shared with Shin. Nasuti was babying Ryo who lay on one of the beds with an arm draped over his eyes. He dropped the other boy with a yelp as one sock covered foot began massaging his groin. He glared at Shin who pouted up at him from the floor.  
  
"Come on, Touma-kun. It'll be fun, you know I'm right."  
  
"What'll be fun?" Shuu asked.  
  
"Me, him, a bed. No clothes allowed, of course." Shin smiled at Shuu, before continuing, "You're welcome to join us."  
  
"There's not going to be an us. At least, not right now. We need to figure out what's going on with Seiji before he completely freaks out."  
  
"I think I like him freaked out," Shin murmured, stretching out on the floor. "Did you see him blushing? Mmm." He moaned and dragged his hands down his chest towards the bulge in his shorts, not caring that he wasn't alone. "I bet I could make him blush."  
  
"Ugh. How do you share a room with him?" Shuu shrugged.  
  
"He doesn't really care who he gets it from, so if he gets too annoying I send him out after one of you."  
  
"Shuu!" Another shrug.  
  
"You have to admit, you aren't picky Shin, and it does work."  
  
"So you've never...?" Here Shuu blushed and Shin grinned.  
  
"Remember my hasty retreat a few minutes ago?" He nodded at Shin. "He's the occasional guy." Touma smirked. It seemed no one was safe, except Seiji.  
  
"Shin? It seems you've gotten all of us into bed at least once," Nasuti and Ryo looked at each other in shock before looking away again in embarrassment, "except for Seiji. In fact, I've never even seen you make an attempt before today. Why is that?" He leaned over, peering into the face of the boy who was now mysteriously without his shirt. Shin just shrugged.  
  
"What are you getting at, Touma?" Ryo asked, coming to stand beside him. Shin groped about for his shirt and pulled it on before standing up. He frowned, they were ruining the mood and he hadn't gotten any.  
  
"You don't think... you do think!" The blue haired boy nodded in Nasuti's direction while Ryo and Shuu looked back and forth between them. "Ryo filled me in on what's been happening to Seiji. Was it you, Shin?" The boy in question blinked, looking slightly miffed.  
  
"You think I'd do something like this? You know I'm much more forward when it comes to things like this."  
  
"Usually, yeah, you are," Ryo commented, picking up on his friends' train of thought. "But what if things were different? What if you wanted more than a casual fuck? We don't know how you'd go about that."  
  
"Guys, are you saying you think Shin is in love with Seiji?"  
  
"It would make sense," Touma pointed out. "He's never tried to get sex out of him, he might have been able to sneak into our room while Seiji was sleeping, and if he's afraid of being rejected those notes are a good way of saying how he feels without actually saying how he feels." Shuu burst out laughing.  
  
"Touma," he said after he'd pulled himself together, "you think to much."  
  
"So, they really aren't from you Shin?" Nasuti asked.  
  
"No they aren't! If they were I'd have had the decency to have said something instead of watching Seiji panic. As cute as it is, it's also sorta scary. I mean, Seiji blushing? Who would have ever thought he was capable of something like that?"  
  
"I would have." Touma pointed out. "He does have emotions, y'know?" Shuu clapped him on the back.  
  
"We know, Touma, we know. It's just, he's not one for showing them." Touma frowned.  
  
"He shows them just fine when he's with me." The others in the room looked at little hurt at that remark.  
  
"So you're saying he thinks he's too good for us? Too good to let us know he's human??"  
  
"No, Ryo! He's just.. he's just scared, and he doesn't really know how to deal with stuff like that. It's taken me months of prodding to get him to actually talk to me instead of going off to meditate somewhere so he doesn't have to think about what's bothering him. And Shin, I'm sorry for suggesting it might of been you. I just want to figure out what the hell is going on! I don't like seeing him like this and I want it to stop!" Shin wrapped his arms about the now trembling boy.  
  
"It's okay Touma. Apology accepted. Calm down now, and we'll figure this out together." The boy stopped shaking and nodded once.  
  
"So," Nasuti was good with organizing things, especially when dealing with the unknown, so she took the lead, "we can all agree that no one in this room sent those things to Seiji, right?" Nods all around. "Which means we have to think of all the people who know Seiji and then narrow the list down from there." More nods. "Alright, I'll grab pen and paper and start jotting down names." Another round of nods and she left the room in search of said materials.  
  
"One thing I still don't get is why you never did go after Seiji, Shin. Care to share?"  
  
"Well, Ryo, as much as I hate to admit it, I never went after him because I didn't think it would be worth the trouble."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well, he's obviously gorgeous, but I never thought he'd be that responsive in bed. I mean, I thought about it sometimes, what it'd be like to break him, but then I had to wonder if I ever really could. Well, without doing something drastic anyway. So it wasn't really worth it. But today, I saw how wrong I was. I'm sure he'd be an excellent lover, nothing at all like the blow-up doll Shuu keeps under his bed."  
  
"WHY YOU-!" Ryo pushed Shin out the door, grabbed Nasuti who was just returning and the three took off down the stairs, Nasuti demanding to know what was happening this time.  
  
"We're moving to the living room," he commented just before he was out of hearing distance. Shuu, who had calmed himself down only because he had something more important to do, turned to face the boy still lingering in the room.  
  
"You love him, don't you?"  
  
"What?!" Shuu crossed the room and led the other boy to sit down on the bed.  
  
"You're in love with Seiji. Am I right, Touma?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shifted nervously, not looking at his childhood friend.  
  
"Touma, I've known your for forever, you can't lie to me. Besides, if I had any doubts, that little defense of yours made it pretty obvious." The blue haired boy tugged at a rip in his jeans, still refusing to meet the other's eyes.  
  
"You know Shuu," he sighed and lifted his head, "you're a lot more perceptive than any of us give you credit for." The other boy grinned.  
  
"Don't I know it. Now maybe you'll listen to me the next time I have some advice for you."  
  
"Maybe." Shuu pulled him into a tight hug before maneuvering him into a headlock and giving him a noogie.  
  
"Well, Dr. Shuu's next-"  
  
"Dr. Shuu?" Another noogie, a bit harder this time.  
  
"Yes, Dr. Shuu. And his next piece of advice is to tell Seiji how you feel. Don't interrupt. I don't mean right now, of course, but after we figure out what the hell is going on and things have calmed down again."  
  
"Shuu-"  
  
"GUYS!!!" The two boys rushed out of the room to the top of the stairs. Seiji had heard the yell as well, but didn't venture further than his doorway. He couldn't hear any indications of a struggle, so he figured no one was in any danger. If they needed him, he was sure they'd call again.  
  
"Shuu, Touma get down here!" It was Nasuti. "And bring Seiji with you." The two boys nodded, silently agreeing that Shuu should head downstairs leaving the blonde to Touma.  
  
Seiji sighed and met Touma half way. He really wasn't in the mood to leave his room right now. What if whoever it was left something else in there while he was away? But Nasuti wanted him down stairs, so it must be important. At least he had managed to pull himself together while he was alone. Touma pulled his friend into a hug.  
  
"How ya feeling Sage?" The question earned him a brief glower, followed quickly by a small smile, before the expression of weariness and slight fear took over again.  
  
"A little better." He nodded towards the stairs. "We should get going." A nod and they headed down to join their friends.  
  
They found them in the kitchen, all huddled around the table.  
  
"What's going on?" the blonde asked.  
  
The four parted, allowing the new arrivals a clear view of the table. There was a long white box, the kind flowers come in, resting there. It was topped with a rather large green bow, which a small envelope sat next to. He moved towards it and looked down at the card. His name, in large green letters, flowed across the white background in an elegant handwriting that was quickly becoming familiar.  
  
"No..." he took a few steps backwards, shaking his head. "No, no more! I don't want this!" He turned to run but crashed into Touma, who gently held onto him.  
  
"You need to open it, Seiji," he whispered. "It might help us figure out who this is, and we need to do that so this can all end. Go ahead, we're all here and we won't let anything hurt you." Once the blonde had stopped shaking his head, he gave him a little push back towards the box. Seiji took a deep breath and reached out to open the card.  
  
"What's it say?" Shin elbowed his roommate. "Ow."  
  
"'I didn't mean to frighten you'..." he read aloud before letting the card slip between his fingers.  
  
"Well, that's good, right?" Touma stepped forward and grabbed the blonde before he could make like the card.  
  
"No, Ryo, it's not good. How the hell do they know Seiji was afraid?"  
  
"Maybe you should take him back upstairs?" their leader hazarded. The blonde head shook furiously.  
  
"I don't want to go back upstairs. Here is good, right here is good. I'll just stay right here and then I won't find anymore presents." Everyone stared at him. He was worse off than they thought, and that frightened them. Shin was right earlier, Seiji afraid was a very scary thing, and no one had any idea what to do.  
  
Touma stroked the golden head trying to calm the stricken boy down. It wasn't doing much good, but he hoped it would let the other boy know his friends were still there for him. He gestured with his free hand at the box before protectively hugging the boy closer.  
  
"Nasuti, open the box." Touma's precaution had been justified, for as soon as the words penetrated the fear-fogged mind, Seiji tried to run. Touma held on, all the while whispering to him that it was okay and for him to calm down. Nasuti had moved towards the box and was in the process of trying to open it.  
  
"Uh, Touma?" She stepped back, staring at the object in confusion.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"The box, it won't open." Shuu, being the strongest of the group, tried to open it as well. It was no use.  
  
"Huh." He shrugged and moved out of the way.  
  
"I don't understand," Shin remarked. "The other boxes all opened, right? And so did the card..."  
  
"Right," Touma nodded, "but they were all opened by Seiji before any of us tried to."  
  
"So he has to open it." Touma nodded at the girl then turned his attention back to Seiji.  
  
"Can you do that?" he asked the blonde who had begun to tremble. He shook his head again, eyes squeezed shut.  
  
"No, I can't. Please don't make me. Let's just forget about all of this." Touma frowned, he didn't want to do this to his friend, but they couldn't just ignore the fact that someone had been breaking into their home undetected.  
  
"I know you're scared, Seiji, but we're all here with you. We won't let anything happen to you, you know that." The blonde head continued to shake. "Don't you trust us?" Seiji looked up sharply.  
  
"Of course I trust you," he whispered in a hurt voice.  
  
"Then open the box Seiji. I know this is all creepy, but nothing really bad has happened so far. It's not like Date Seiji to be afraid of a few presents-"  
  
"Touma!" A glare was directed at Shin.  
  
"What would your Ojiisan say?"  
  
"He would be very disappointed in me," the blonde whispered again. He let go of his friend and turned to face the box. He moved towards it, appearing to all the world as if he had regained his confidence. Touma, however, knew it was all an act, done simply to protect his grandfather's honor and the honor of his family. He hated what he had said to his friend, but hopefully they would be able to find something out this time.  
  
The room was silent as Seiji easily opened the box. Inside was another note, and anyone who watched him as closely as Touma would have noticed the minute trembling of his fingers as he picked it up and read it aloud.  
  
"'Without the light everything will wither away and die, but, without the darkness the light cannot shine.'" He reached out again and moved aside the tissue paper that obscured what else lay inside. He lay the card down and walked stiffly to a corner of the room. Once there he dropped gracefully to the floor, pulled his knees to his chest, and tried not to break out into tears while the others were around to see his disgrace. He had been serious earlier about not leaving the kitchen.  
  
The rest of them crowded around the box once more and, now that it was open, looked inside. There amongst the tissue paper, a dozen dead roses were artfully arranged. Touma was across the room before anyone could blink, trying to get Seiji to respond to him.  
  
"Seiji? Seiji? Seiji! Answer me!" There was no response, it was all the blonde could do not to start crying. The blue haired boy was panicking, something he rarely did, if ever. This gift had spooked him, who knew what it must be doing to Seiji. Especially after what he had said to get him to open it.  
  
The three remaining troopers as well as Nasuti watched in horror as one of their friends began to completely close himself off while the other screamed at him to do something, anything. Ryo, taking things into his own hands, strode across the room and pulled Touma away from Seiji, entrusting him to Shin's care. He knelt in front of the boy on the floor, lifted his right hand, and calmly backhanded him.  
  
The force of the unchecked blow knocked Seiji's frame against the wall. Had he not been sitting in the corner, it most likely would have taken him to the floor. The shock of being hit caused him to uncurl from his semi- fetal position. Ryo gathered him into his arms and stood up. A glance behind him proved that, with the help of Shuu, Shin had managed to detain an enraged Touma. Holding tightly onto his friend, Ryo left the kitchen and headed upstairs.  
  
By the time the others had managed to calm the archer down enough to come upstairs, the black haired boy had finished what he'd set out to do. He didn't if the boy in the bed would agree with him, but Ryo had changed him into what he considered comfort clothes. Those being a t-shirt and some of his own sweats, seeing as how Seiji didn't have any. That done, he had managed to get him into bed where he was resting peacefully, he hoped.  
  
Touma came into the room first, followed closely by the others. Ryo expected to be hit, and he was right. He rubbed at his jaw while the other stared at his fist.  
  
"That was for Seiji," he murmured, "I know he wouldn't have the decency to hit you back himself."  
  
"And from you?"  
  
"Thanks.." he gestured to the sleeping boy, "for getting him into bed, and for taking control back there. I-I really lost it back there." Ryo nodded, clapping him lightly on the arm, thanks and silent apology easily accepted.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Nasuti asked. Touma sighed, looking once more at the relaxed face of his best friend.  
  
"There's not much we can do now, except get some rest." His stomach grumbled, and he looked sheepishly at Shin. "Maybe some dinner? I don't think I've eaten at all today."  
  
The other boy nodded and headed out of the room. Slowly, the others trickled out after him for dinner and then bed. Shuu gave him an apologetic look and squeezed his arm before heading out. Touma stood for a while, watching his best friend and the object of his unspoken desire resting in his bed. He wondered how the other boy would react if he woke up to find himself being held by his best friend. With a sigh, Touma decided it was best not to chance it and left the room to get his own dinner.  
  
"Soon, Kourin, soon." A small box was left on the pillow next to the golden head.  
  
When Seiji awoke the next morning, the box was still there. He sat up slowly, a small smile on his face. Going to his closet, he pulled out a pair of slacks and a dark green sweater. He stopped at his dresser for underwear and socks, then picked up the new box and the yin yang pendant from the day before and made his way to the shower.  
  
Clean and dressed, he stood in front of the mirror over the sink. He smiled again at his reflection. Lifting his hands he put the silver chain around his neck and closed the little clasp. He ran his fingers through his hair one last time making sure every strand was in place, then exited the bathroom. He went down the stairs, out the door, and into the early morning.  
  
A few hours later, Shin poked his head into his friends' bedroom to check on the two of them. Touma was sound asleep as usual and Seiji's bed was impeccably made. That was normal for the blonde, but Shin hadn't been expecting it after what had taken place yesterday. He came fully into the room and noticed something on the blonde's nightstand. It was the dragon carving he'd gotten as the second present.  
  
Shin frowned and moved the pick it up. Neither this nor the yin yang pendant had been out last night. Worried, he crossed to Touma's bed and tried to wake him. He wasn't having much luck and he resorted to screaming in the other boy's ear.  
  
"Seiji's gone! Touma! Seiji-!" The boy's eyes snapped open and he stared at Shin.  
  
"Seiji..?"  
  
"Is gone. This was sitting on the dresser." He handed over the statuette just as everyone else came running into the room.  
  
"We heard screaming, what-?" Ryo's question was answered before he finished asking.  
  
"Seiji's missing," Shin stated, filling everyone in as Touma pulled himself together and climbed out of bed.  
  
"Are you sure? Did you check everywhere?" Nasuti asked, fidgeting with her robe. Shin shook his head.  
  
No, but I'm pretty sure he's gone."  
  
"Why?" Touma held the little dragon up for Shuu to see.  
  
"He's not afraid anymore."  
  
Just to be on the safe side, the entire house was checked. They started with the room, since it was one of his favorite places and worked their way down. In the kitchen, they found the roses from the night before in full bloom.  
  
------------------  
  
What'd you think? Yeah, the ending was kinda a cop out, but it was getting dragged out... A sequel maybe? What exactly happened to Seiji? How does Touma cope?  
  
(Did everyone get who the secret admirer was?)  
  
Completed 7/12/02 


End file.
